Although advocating for people experiencing homelessness is an underappreciated area of criminal defense, the support present at the Mass Defense Committee’s April 24th CLE, “The Criminalization of Homelessness,” demonstrates that those without homes in Chicago are not without people dedicated to fighting for their basic human rights.  Diane O’Connell, a community lawyer at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) who provides a variety of legal services to people experiencing homelessness, presented along with Ali Simmons, a CCH street outreach worker and community organizer. Nickolas Kaplan, an NLG attorney who was active in providing legal support in the struggle to save the Tent City in Uptown, moderated the event.

The discussion largely focused on the Uptown Tent City, an encampment on the Lake Shore Drive viaduct which experienced consistent government harassment over a period of several years.  Some of the major moments of the campaign reviewed by panelists included a large scale eviction of the encampment in September 2017, as well as subsequent direct actions protesting the evictions.   Simmons strongly reinforced that such encampments function not only as shelter, but refuges of community and support for the people who live there. As a result, when the city displaces an encampment, people lose their community.  For many, encampments are the only viable option for survival due to the lack of availability — and accessibility — of many housing options in the city of Chicago. Accessibility of housing for those with disabilities is one of the many lenses through which Simmons highlighted the intersectional nature of homelessness.  He further discussed how those without homes can be more vulnerable both to sexual violence and incarceration after their encampments are displaced.

O’Connell then went on to discuss various legal strategies aimed at supporting the rights of homeless people.  A prominent legal avenue for this aid is the Illinois Bill of Rights for the Homeless Act, which provides some protection to homeless people and their property.  She emphasized that while a person experiencing homelessness has the right under law to equal treatment without discrimination, in reality the mere fact of homelessness often provides basis for discrimination. Other initiatives of CCH which were discussed included the Bring Chicago Home campaign, a small real estate tax increase which would be used to fund housing increases for communities experiencing homelessness.

Both Simmons and O’Connell underscored the two main points which lawyers should glean from the discussion:  first and foremost comes actively listening to the people who are already in the struggle for their own rights; secondly, when working with the homeless community, it is of utmost importance to follow through on any and all commitments given.  Being present and forming active partnerships between lawyers and people experiencing homelessness provides a framework for reshaping the outlook on the needs of homeless communities, with an emphasis on intersectionality and the concept of refuge.   

This summer, Chicago Community Bond Fund will be hosting one of National Lawyers Guild’s Haywood Burns Fellowship recipients.  The Fellowships sponsor law students and legal workers to spend the summer working for public interest organizations across the country in order to build their legal skills , strengthen their long-term commitment to social justice, and provide much-needed legal support to under-served communities.

Christine Farolan is a 1L at Northeastern University School of Law and a proud daughter of Filipino immigrants. After graduating from Northwestern University with a degree in Social Policy, she completed an AmeriCorps year of service for the Legal Assistance Foundation. At LAF, she organized volunteer opportunities for attorneys and law students and assisted in management of a pro bono legal services clinic in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. In law school, she is a co-chair of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association. She is also a member of the Criminal Law Project, with whom she has been researching campus police authority and misconduct. Christine hopes to use her career to further criminal legal reform and is eager to work with the Chicago Community Bond Fund as a Haywood Burns fellow.

Chicago Community Bond Fund is excited to have Christine working as a 2019 summer intern. Christine will be supporting CCBF’s revolving fund by helping conduct intakes and also supporting their systems change work through doing research, writing, and other policy advocacy.

NLG Chi congratulates Christine Farolan.  We are thrilled to have you working in our community this summer.